31 May 2011

There’s no need to read this BNET piece if you’ve read my book or oodles of posts here over the last six years (although it’s great to see David Wolfe getting virtual ink):

Are you targeting the wrong audience?Madison Avenue is still locked into “Chronic Youth Syndrome.” … Ironically, this fixation on younger audiences is a historic anachronism dating back to the time when Baby Boomers were 18 to 34.

Have you been targeting the right audience? If not, what do you plan to do to correct the situation?

I can tell you what advertisers and CMOs won’t be planning on doing to “correct the situation,” what they won’t be demanding from their ad agencies (so you might as well flush all this demographic poop down the toilet):

HR/Brain RollTruth is, you can analyze marketing fodder all day and night, read countless books about marketing to Baby Boomers, attend advertising and marketing conventions around the world, and soak up everything all the experts have to say. Much of what is out there is valuable and useful, some practically required reading, others instructive and illuminating. But if you plan on implementing a creative strategy, and turn it over to a different generation of advertising professionals—you'll forfeit the natural sensibilities required to generate vital campaigns.

23 May 2011

For a few years, David Segal (aka The Haggler) of the NYT has been entertaining me with his tongue-in-cheek essays on seedy business practices. Every so often he features one of my favorite subjects: Word-of-Mouth Marketing.

My first post about it all:

The Brouhaha Over WOMM (2006)My prediction: When it all comes out in the wash, WOMM will be the best thing to happen to (silly retronym ahead) traditional advertising. Pretty soon, consumers won't believe anybody - even their best friends. They'll realize that they receive the most honest and straightforward information about a product or service from a TV commercial, print ad, or product web site. At least we don't lie about who we are and why we're saying what we're saying … As far as all the claptrap about WOMM replacing advertising - people who are hawking that one have a slippery grip on history.

My Blog Was WOMMed! (2008)A comment showed up in my inbox. I moderate comments before publishing. Instinctively I knew it stank … Someone who works at the company left the comment - and here's the most egregious part - trashed their competition … This exemplifies the darkest of the dark side of WOMM.

Another good one:

Internet Hero of the Week (2009)An uproar hit the Web over the weekend when it was discovered an employee at consumer electronics company Belkin had offered to pay people to write positive reviews for his company's products, even if they hadn't tried them … "Write as if you own the product and are using it," Bayard suggested. "Thank the website for making you such a great deal. Mark any other negative reviews as 'not helpful' once you post yours."

In Shift, Ads Try to Entice Over-55 SetBy BILL CARTER and TANZINA VEGAPublished: May 13, 2011… After 40 years of catering to younger consumers, advertisers and media executives are coming to a different realization: older people aren’t so bad, after all.

TV's youth obsession backfiring (2006)In the spirit of fun and games with the news, I've come up with a few of my own reasonable, moderate, neutral headlines…

Calcified Advertising Agencies (2007)… A prime-time TV show with most of its viewers in the 34-to-49 range can get 30% more per ad minute than one that caters to people 55 and older. Yet consumers age 50 and up already spend more than $1.7 trillion on goods and services a year…

More from the NYT piece:

They (Baby Boomers) have also become heavy spenders on electronics and digital devices. The study also showed that members of the 55-to-64 age group were just as likely as those ages 18 to 34 to have high-definition televisions, digital video recorders and broadband service.

“It will be the Baby Boomers who will be the first to pick and choose, to ignore or be seduced by leading-edge technology marketing. There’s a simple reason for this. We have the money to buy this stuff. Experts say we’ll continue to have the money for at least the next twenty years. Write us off at your own peril.

Baby boomer bonanza forecastBaby boomers will be an economic force to be reckoned with, according to a new report on New Zealand's ageing population … Far from being a drain on the economy, baby boomers could offer a multibillion-dollar boon, a new Government report says.

Boomers and seniors may be next big thing in media salesCompanies looking to sell products and services in industries like music, radio, television and movies have traditionally aimed at younger audiences, but a lack of interest among young people and a growing older population has prompted some professionals in the field to rethink their strategy…

In Spain, the number of younger radio listeners has declined in recent years, but boomers age 55 to 64 have started to tune into stations even more than before - 54.2 percent of the demographic regularly listens to the radio…

Movies are also experiencing a graying effect … the number of boomer and senior movie watchers has grown by 67 percent since 1995 …

So your digital agency says you have to put up a banner or bannerish ad on Facebook (or any social networking site). Media planners suggest an ad network. If you follow their advice, what percentage of viewers will click on your ad?

Follow by Email

Chuck Nyren

Boomer/neXt, LLC

Chuck Nyren is an international creative strategist, consultant, copywriter, columnist, author, and speaker. He has consulted and conducted seminars in Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, The Netherlands, Canada, and The United States.A longer version.